When one thinks of a student life forum, it perhaps involves a short 15-30 minute introduction where students could direct the focus of their own concerns, and continue on from there. Instead, Eddie Knowles, vice president of student life, gave a detailed, 90-minute presentation on the Student Life Performance Plan rather than holding an open forum. Although the information shared by Knowles was valuable, is the Student Life Forum really the appropriate place to present this information? An interactive setting like the forum is a much better place to gather feedback from the students than to give a lecture about what’s already been decided.
November 19 comes in the time frame that many RPI students consider being crunch time. Few have an hour—let alone three—to spare on their concerns about student life—that’s why we keep seeing the same faces in the same places; it’s just too much to expect from a student who’s not super-involved.
Additionally, if a student actually came to the forum with a concern they wanted to address, by the time they got their chance to speak they may have felt that a lot of their time had been wasted on things that they weren’t interested in.
These forums are a great idea in principal; we’re all for student input in the process. However, at present, there is no incentive for any but the most active students to attend the events. These events are stacked with members of the Senate and other student government bodies—students who already know what is going to be said but attend out of a sense of duty—but are unattractive to the average student with a concern that has escaped notice.
Students don’t need another place to hear about what’s been done in the past. They need a place where they can affect what happens in the future.
